Ubisoft’s share price climbed significantly on Friday amid growing speculation that the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry company might be considering a sale. To be clear: It’s still very early days, it appears, and there have not been any formal bids made, nor have any potential negotiations even begun, according to a report.
Bloomberg reported that the private equity companies Blackstone and KKR have been “studying” Ubisoft, though the site said there have not been any “serious negotiations” yet.
“Deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty any of the suitors will proceed with offers,” Bloomberg reported. Spokespeople for Blackstone and KKR declined to comment to Bloomberg, while a Ubisoft representative also had no comment on a potential takeover.
“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation,” a spokesperson told GameSpot. “Ubisoft has unmatched creative and production capacities, with more than 20,000 talented people collaborating across our global studios on game development. Thanks to them and to our long-term approach and appetite for taking creative risks, we have built some of the industry’s strongest proprietary brands and have many promising new brands and projects on the horizon.”
“We also have one the industry’s deepest and most diversified portfolios, cutting-edge services and technologies, and a large and growing community of engaged players. As a result, we’re ideally positioned to capitalize on the rapid industry growth and platform opportunities that are emerging right now.”
KKR has made moves in the gaming world before, as it was among the $1.25 billion investment into Epic Games back in 2018. Blackstone doesn’t appear to have any public video game investments. The company is mainly known for its real estate investments. In 2021, Blackstone bought Spanx.
Ubisoft’s stock price surged by more than 15% on Friday, with investors and analysts seemingly responding positively to the potential of Ubisoft being acquired, or at least that private investment companies are reportedly interested in some capacity. The family of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is Ubisoft’s biggest investor, with a 15% stake in the company.
In February, Guillemot said Ubisoft is not looking to sell and feels confident in its financial position and sees the value of its many franchises. That being said, Guillemot said Ubisoft and its board of directors would entertain an offer to be acquired.
Ubisoft celebrated a victory of independence in 2017 when it successfully fought off a “creeping control” bid from Vivendi, which later sold its stake in the company.
Source: Gamespot
